Chapter 127

Third Person POV

“So, I get information about Alpha Gavin’s business?” Ethan asked. He was seated at a table in the middle of a restaurant a few packs away from his own. Others he had never met sat at the table as well. Each of them with their own tasks. They all wore business clothes and looked important; Ethan fit right in with them.

Levi Churchill sat at the front end of the table; the one in charge of the operation.

“What exactly am I looking for?” Ethan asked, staring around at the table.

“Anything and everything is important,” Levi answered. “If I want to take down his business, I need to know how it operates from the inside. You are already on the inside since you are engaged to be married to his daughter. You have access to his home. Find me personal information… anything… it’s all useful.”

Ethan nodded.

“Yes, Alpha,” he said, bowing his head as he felt the Lycan’s powers washing over him.

“And what about the girl?” One of the ladies at the table, Ethan couldn’t quite remember her name, asked. “You mentioned she was going to the Gamma competition?”

Ethan knew she was asking about Judy. Judy was open conversation for a bit and it was made clear to Alpha Levi that Judy had been involved with Gavin.

“I already have someone keeping an eye on her there,” Levi replied. “Plus, I’ll be heading there in the morning as well. Gavin will also be there, so this gives Ethan a prime opportunity to get all the information he can for the next few weeks. Can I count on you to do that?”

He narrowed his eyes at Ethan as he said that last part.

“Yes, Alpha,” Ethan repeated his earlier statement

Levi nodded and then stared at the rest of them.

“You know what to do,” he murmured. “You are dismissed.”

With that, everyone packed up their things and took off in the vehicles they came in. Ethan ran his fingers through his hair and started to leave, but he was stopped by Alpha Levi.

“Ethan,” he called after him, making Ethan freeze at the doorway. “Don’t let me down. You won’t like your punishment if you fail.”

Ethan released a shaky breath and nodded before he left.

It took him a little over an hour to get to the Villa. Irene called him on his way there and asked if he was coming over today, to which he said that he was. He hadn’t seen her in a few days, despite knowing that she was in the hospital recently. He felt a bit guilty about not seeing her, but he’s been in meetings and dealing with Alpha Levi. He hadn’t had the time for anything else.

When he reached the Villa, Gavin was long gone, which he was relieved for. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his secrets if Gavin was around and it was crucial that he didn’t give himself away or else Levi would make good on his threat.

He expected Irene to wrap her arms around him and hug him like she always did, but when he saw her, she was keeping her distance. She had her arms wrapped around her body like she was trying to hold herself together and it looked as if she had been crying.

“What’s going on?” Gavin asked as he stepped further into the parlor.

“I went by your house yesterday,” she said, surprising him. He hadn’t seen her at all yesterday and he barely caught her scent when he returned home in the morning. He wasn’t there at all in the afternoon or at night so it must have been around that time she stopped by his house.

“Okay?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

“There was a woman there,” she said, her eyes finding his. “She was standing at your door.”

“And do you know who it was?”

His chest tightened. He had been careless with this affairs lately. These last few weeks he had been behaving himself, but he never officially ended things with any of his flings. Some of them knew that it was only a fling; most of them were prostitutes. But there was one girl that wasn’t a prostitute. One girl was clearly catching feelings for him after one night of fun. Ethan’s biggest mistake was hooking up with her more than once; after he realized she was catching feelings, he should have stopped the affair, but he didn’t.

Scarlett looked the most like Judy and she was incredibly in bed. He found himself wanting more of her, so he continued the affair. The second biggest mistake he made was inviting her over to his house once. They had sex until the sun came up the next morning. But he hadn’t spoken to her in the last couple of weeks. He didn’t quite end things, but he hadn’t called her back either. He was hoping she would get the hint and stop pestering him. He figured keeping up the affair was too risky. He didn’t want Irene to find out about this girl.

He had been faithful to Irene for weeks, but from the look on her face, he knew that she was suspecting something. It had to have been Scarlett who showed up at his house unannounced. No others would have done that; no others knew where he lived. It was only her.

“Did she say something to you?” Ethan asked, his voice feeling heavy as he spoke.

She shook her head and tucked a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

“No, but she looked upset. Like she’s been crying,” she replied.

Ethan let out a breath, hoping that Irene didn’t see the relief in his eyes. As long as Scarlett hadn’t said anything to her, then he could fix this.

“Maybe it was the wrong house. I wasn’t expecting anyone yesterday,” he told her, his confidence coming back.

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes narrowed, and her lips pressed in a thin line.

“Are you sure about that?” She asked. “Because she had a striking resemblance to Judy.”

Ethan froze as he looked at Irene; what had she figured out?

“What are you saying?” Ethan asked defensively.

“I’m saying it’s not a coincidence...”

“Judy has a very basic look,” he murmured, shaking his head. “I can pick out about 5 girls that look just like her. She’s not that special.”

“Why was she at your house, Ethan? Please, tell me the truth,” Irene said, stepping closer to him. He saw tears filling her eyes and for a moment, he actually felt bad. Maybe he would have told her the truth under different circumstances, but now he knew that he couldn’t. He had too much on the line and he needed to play his part like a good little spy that he was.

“I don’t know,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders, hoping to be soothing. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around lately. I’ve been so busy with pack business. I have barely been home these last few weeks. If anyone were to stop by my house, then I wouldn’t have known. You know my family is pretty much running the pack until a new Alpha is appointed. We are the Beta family. She could have been trying to ask for a favor. Other than that, I don’t know why she would come over. I didn’t ask anyone to stop by.”

Irene stared at him for a long while like she was trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. She nibbled on her lower lip.

“I just have this nasty feeling…” she whispered, tears dripping down her flushed cheeks.

Ethan pressed his lips to her forehead.

“I promise, Irene. I’m not cheating on you. Nothing is going on. You know I love you. I wouldn’t have proposed to you if I didn’t,” he assured her.

After a moment, she nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered.

He smiled and kissed her, and she let him kiss her.

“Should we go to your room? I hear your father isn’t home,” he asked, winking.

She nodded.

“Yes, I’ll meet you up there in a moment. I just have a phone call to make,” she said.

He nodded and headed straight to her bedroom; she watched after him and let out a sigh after he was out of sight.

She wanted to believe Ethan and she wanted to trust him… but she knew now that she couldn’t. Over the last few months, she discovered Ethan’s tell. She now understood his tells when he lied; his nostrils flared ever so slightly, and he always raised his eyebrows in a condescending way. That was exactly what he did when he was talking about not knowing that woman.

She had no doubt in her mind now that Ethan was in fact lying to her. She walked out of the parlor and into the main foyer where Adam sat in his usual seat, reading a book. He paused when he saw her and he corked an eyebrow.

“I need you to do me a favor and tell nobody about it,” Irene said without missing a beat.

She grabbed her phone and brought up a picture of the woman’s license plate. She managed to snap it before she drove away from Ethan’s house. She didn’t do anything with it yet, hoping that Ethan would come clean and tell her the truth. But clearly, that wasn’t going to happen. She sent the image to Adam’s cell phone, and she heard his phone chiming almost immiedalty after.

He grabbed his phone and glanced at the image with a frown.

“Who does this belong to?” He asked, looking back up at her.

“I’m hoping you’ll be able to find out for me,” she said. “You’ve always been good with computers and techy stuff, Adam. Do you think you can find out who this plate belongs to?”

He thought about it for a moment, and then he nodded.

“Of course,” he replied.

She nodded.

“Find out what you can and report to me as soon as you can,” she ordered, and with that, she turned and went upstairs.